Doraemon (Series)
Doraemon (Japanese: ドラえもん) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko Fujio, which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise. The series is about a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a pre-teen boy called Nobita Nobi (野比 のび太 Nobi Nobita). The series first appeared in December 1969, when it was published simultaneously in six different magazines. A total of 1,344 stories were created in the original series, which are published by Shogakukan under the Tentōmushi (てんとう虫) manga brand, extending to forty-five volumes. Plot Doraemon is sent back in time by a young boy named Sewashi Nobi to improve the circumstances of his grandfather, Nobita, so that his descendants may enjoy a better future. In the original timeline, Nobita experienced nothing but misery and misfortune manifested in the form of poor grades and bullying throughout his life. This culminates in the burning down of a future business he sets up which leaves his family line beset with financial problems. In order to alter history and better the Nobi family's fortunes, Sewashi initially wanted to send a super-robot to protect Nobita, but with his meager allowance he could only afford an imperfectly-made factory-rejected toy: an anthropomorphic robot cat called Doraemon. Doraemon has a pocket from which he produces gadgets, medicines, and tools from the future. The pocket is called yojigen-pocket (literally "fourth-dimensional pocket"). Some of the gadgets (dōgu) are based on real Japanese household devices with fanciful twists, but most are completely science fiction (although some may be based on folklore or religious stories). Thousands of dōgu have been featured in Doraemon." The number of gadgets has been approximated at 4,500. It is this constant variety which makes Doraemon popular both among children and among adults. In the series, the availability of dōgu sometimes depends on the money Doraemon has available, and he often says some dōgu are expensive in the future. The more famous ones include the "bamboo-copter" (which is very similar to the one that appears on the older series of Beany and Cecil), a small head accessory that allows flight; the "Anywhere Door," a door that opens up to any place the user wishes; and the "Time Machine." Some of the recurring dōgu also appear in Fujiko F. Fujio's other works, including 21-emon, Kaibutsu-kun, Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Mikio to Mikio, and Pāman. Although he can hear perfectly well, Doraemon has no ears: his robotic ears were eaten by some robotic mice, giving him a series-long phobia of the creatures. The only main female character is Shizuka Minamoto, who serves as a friendly and romantic interest for Nobita. Shizuka is intelligent and is Nobita's best and closest friend, and loves him second most (after her parents). Nobita's main enemies are Takeshi (nicknamed "Gian," from the English word giant), a consummate bully; and Suneo, who is cunning and arrogant. There are many recurring supporting characters, including Dekisugi, the student who always gets the best grades in Nobita's class; Nobita's parents; Gian's mother; Gian's sister Jaico; Gian's school teacher; Gian's descendants (from the future); Mii chan (Doraemon's cat girlfriend); and Doraemon's sister Dorami. The stories are formulaic, usually focusing on the everyday struggles of the fifth grader Nobita, the protagonist of the story. In a typical chapter, Nobita comes home crying about a problem he faces in school or in the local neighborhood. After hearing him out, Doraemon often advises him, but that's never enough for Nobita, who consistently looks for the "quick, easy" way out (which offers insight to the viewers as to why Nobita's life turned out the way it did). Finally, after Nobita's pleading and/or goading, Doraemon produces a futuristic gadget out of his pocket to help Nobita fix his problem, enact revenge, or flaunt to his friends, especially Shizuka. Unfortunately, when he has the gadget, Nobita usually gets into deeper trouble than before, despite Doraemon's best intentions and warnings. Sometimes Nobita's friends (usually Suneo or Gian) steal Doraemon's gadgets and end up misusing them. By the end of the story, the characters who do wrong are usually grounded. Video games There are a total of 63 Japanese-only video games ranging from platformer games to RPG games, which began with the Emerson's Arcadia 2001 system. Doraemon can also be seen in Namco's popular Taiko no Tatsujin rhythm game series like Taiko no Tatsujin (11 - 14 only), Metcha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Nanatsu no Shima no Daibouken, Taiko no Tatsujin Wii, Taiko no Tatsujin Plus, and Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Dororon! Yokai Daikessen!!. The Chinese version of Microsoft's 3D Movie Maker contained a Doraemon-themed expansion pack. English Edition In July 2013, Fujiko Fujio Productions announced that they would be collaborating with ebook publisher Voyager Japan and localization company Alt Japan Co., Ltd. to release an English language version of the Doraemon manga in full-color digitally via the Amazon Kindle platform in North America. Shogakukan released the first volume in November of 2013. This English version incorporates a variety of changes to character names; Nobita is "Noby," Suneo is "Sneech," and Gian is "Big G," while dorayaki is "Fudgy Pudgy Pie.